Victoria Real Estate Agency Home Sale Listings

Condominium Insurance in Ontario - Before buying you need to know this.

In Ontario, special acts have been enacted for Condominium Corporations. The acts form a specific outline and provide a complete definition of what a condominium is.

The Condominium Corporation is formed usually by a portion of the condominium unit owners and they are known as the directors and officers of the corporation. It is their duty to ensure that all parts of the building conform to the act and that all unit owners abide to such an act.

The definition from Black's Law Dictionary defines condominium as the following:

"a system of separate ownrship of individual units in (a) multiple unit building."

The common elements are a financial interest to each unit owner, they are part of the corporations responsibility, however, if the Corporation were to fall short on a claim, the unit owner would be liable for a shared assessment of their responsibility, the amount would depend on their percentage of ownership. For example, if there were 10 units, each owner would be responsible for one tenth of the assessment. Common elements that are shared by unit owners which are parking areas, landscaping and recreational areas. This is why individuals should buy a condominium policy package in order to protect their contents insurance and personal liability insurance, but a condominium insurance policy will also ensure they have coverage for the common elements if need be.

The formula to insuring a condo policy would be to know the value of the entire building and divide it by the number of owners and then assess the amount of coverage you would need on an individual basis. Unit owners are sometimes under the impression that their Condominium is insured under the corporation which is correct, but, they only extend coverage for original carpet, wall paneling, and other original fixtures.

The unit owner is responsible for any upgrades to the original walls, carpet, and fixtures inside, which are known as condominium unit upgrades. Condo owners need to purchase their own condo insurance policy to ensure that there are no gaps of condo insurance coverage. It is recommended after uying their first policy that they review their condo renewal. The reason for this is sometimes, builders add to the units which increases value in addition to real estate increases.

There are two types of Condominium insurance policies. There is a comprehensive condo policy that normally covers you for all risks and the important part is to examine the exclusions in the policy. The second type is a Named Perils condominium policy and this will cover you for what is named in the policy, the named perils only.

The additional coverages you need to pay close attention to is the following:

U1-Condo Unit Improvements and Betterments:

Any improvements to the inside of the unit are not recoverable under the Condominium Corporations business policy. Therefore if you are buying a unit,make sure you know the value of the upgrades in order to decide on the amount of coverage you require.

U2- Condo Loss Assessment:

If coverage on the Corporations policy is inadequate to cover a loss to collectively owned property, a special assessment may be levied against each unit owner. For example, the loss may be for $100,000 and there are 10 units, each owners responsibility is $10,000. The corporation may have what is called a co-insurance clause in their policy and only recover $50,000 of their loss. They would then levy each unit owner $5000 to cover the difference incurred.

U3- Unit Additional Protection:

Essentially this coverage is to protect the unit owner in the event that the condominium corporation has inadequate coverage, has no insurance, or it is not effective.

Normally a standard limit of 2.5 times the limit of insurance is purchased for personal property.

Finally ensure that who ever provides you a condominium policy is offering you replacement cost on your contents, unit improvements as well as unit additional protection.

Dave Melanson is the author of http://www.carandhome.ca and has been working in the insurance industry for more than 14 years as an agent and a broker. Dave's areas of expertise include: auto, home, boat, motorcycle and commercial insurance. Dave has consulted for Canada's top consumer insurance advocate and has been interviewed on insurance related topics with CBC news and the A Channel News.

MORE ARTICLES:

Why Listing Your Vacation Property is Important
Listing vacation rentals by owner is amazing thing that ton of property owners do to save money, but also to make sure the worth of their renters A lot of owners have had awful experience with Management Company allowing citizens to harm their gorgeous home

Be Careful - A Real Estate Agent Could Lead You Astray
The real estate agent is a valuable source of potential deals for you as an investor. They have access to the multiple listing resources and of course, have a monopoly on this information so they have to be part of your game plan as an investor.

Should You Buy Life Insurance With Your Shopping?
It seems like everywhere you go, someone is trying to sell you an insurance product and many try to tempt you with apparently free gifts if you sign on the dotted line for one of their policies. From DVD players and digital cameras to bonus Nectar points, these plans and policies may, at first, seem like good value. But, in most cases, when you add it all up it can turn out to be one very expensive free gift.

Panama Real Estate Bubble Bursting Update 07/05/07
Today La Prensa Newspaper reported that a project named Park 32 in Coste del Este has announced it is failing to complete. Reportedly the project was sold out which leads us to believe the builder engaged in pre-sale marketing to flipper speculators who bought in early on at a low price. This of course removes the incentive for the developer to push forward to completion since he could start another project on the same site at much higher prices. This is similar to what happened with Ice Tower becoming the smaller Iron Tower. We can not state that this is what the case is with Park 32 at this time.

Real Estate Investing in a Crisis Market
You've probably heard someone who invests in the stock market say, "There's always a bull market somewhere" That simply means there is a way to profit whether share prices are going up or down

Tempe Marketing Agency Hits Revenue Milestone
Mindspace Reaches Mid-Size Status

The ABC's Of How To Build A Website To Sell Your Niche Product
There are three components that make up a nitch mini web site. The niche mini site is very powerful, easy to build and only needs to consist of three pages. This type of site should include a sales page, a payment processing page and an order fulfillment page.

Global Market Insights -- Sold: U.S. Clients Move to Buy Successful European Consulting Firm
Global Market Insights has been sold to clients of the company who will form a joint venture and operate the successful European organization from the U.S. The founder and CEO of Global Market Insights, Stephen D. McLaughlin, will move back to the U.S. and transition the company over the next year. Details of the sale remain undisclosed pending completion in Luxembourg this month.

How To Buy A New Boat
As the last few weeks of winter come to a close and spring nears, the nicer weather and the chance to get outdoors causes many to consider the option of buying a new boat. If you have ever had the idea to buy a new boat then this is likely followed by a state of confusion if you attempt to find the perfect boat.

Real Estate Franchise Opportunities- Some Details You Shouldn?t Miss
If you search for one opportunity in business franchise you will find thousands waiting for you. One such option is the real estate franchise opportunity which enables you to open your business in real estate and construction. In fact the best way to succeed in the real estate sector is to get a franchise of an already proven name.

SEO Mistakes You Should Avoid For Your Real Estate Website
Handling a real estate business online isn?t all about clicks and browse. There?s more to the business and it?s not even appropriate for any real estate agents to skip a day without checking the status or conditions of his/her real estate website. The fact is, search engines never stop crawling through websites and if you update or take care of your real estate business and website regularly, there?s a good chance your site get acknowledged for the hard work done.

Florida Interactive PR Agency Introduces SEO/PR Audits
The Buyer Group asks: What does online PR mean to a business? Answer? More than just an optimized press release. Can Google index your site? Is your online news optimized for today's journalists and bloggers? Does your Web site have good and useful content that is relevant to a user's search?

Silkflowers.com Announces That, in Addition to Designer Silk Flower Arrangements, It Will Now be Offering Single Stem Silk Flowers for Purchase throug
Today, Silkflowers.com announced that, in addition to its designer silk flower arrangements, it will now be offering single stem silk flowers for purchase through its web site. Launched in August of 2005, Silkflowers.com has rapidly become a premier online source for a wide variety of silk flowers, artificial plants, silk trees, potpourri, scented candles and accessories. In offering single stem silk flowers, Silkflowers.com now presents the person who enjoys arranging and working with fresh flowers the opportunity to work with their high quality silk flowers in the very same manner.

Investors Realty Company to Open Costa Rica Real Estate Community Hacienda Matapalo
When the partners of Investors Realty Company in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida felt the real estate crash a few years ago, they put their heads together to find yet another challenge in the market. It didn't take long for them to agree on the perfect new opportunity for their new product....Costa Rica real estate. After endless research and countless trips, Hacienda Matapalo is now officially open for new housing development.